| Operation codename: Victor I |
Long time before the collapse of the Japanese resistance on the Zamboanga peninsula and the Sulu archipelago, Gen. Eichelberger gave the order to commence operations to liberate the islands of Panay, Negros, Cebu and Bohol, forming the southern part of the Visayas archipelago. The task of occupying the northern part of Panay and Negros, called Negros Occidental, fell to the 40th Division and the 503rd airborne regimental combat group. The southern part of Negros, called Negros Oriental, Cebu and Bohol received the famous Americal Division, which had won laurels at Guadalcanal and in early 1945 participated in the mopping up operations on Leyte. When the operations against the southern islands of the Visayas archipelago started, this island group was completely isolated from the rest of the Philippine archipelago: to the north Mindoro was in the hands of the Allies as were the most important areas of Luzon, to the south the Zamboanga Peninsula and the Sulu archipelago, to the west Palawan and to the east Leyte and Samar. The Japanese troops located in the southern Visayas found themselves in a trap from which there was no escape, because all the retreating routes had been dominated by the Allied Navy and Air Force. (Miloš Hubáček - Boj o Filipíny, Panorama 1990)
Article on English Wikipedia| Scenario in dates: |
| May 27, 1942: |
South Pacific - The infantry division Americal is activated on the New Caledonia Island as the only US division built outside the United States. In spite of the fact that the US Army divisions are numbered numerically, at the request of its first commander, Major General Alexander Patch, who formed it from three individual National Guard regiments sent hurriedly from the United States after Pearl Harbor attack, accepts the name resulting from the abbreviation "American, New Caledonian Division". The division will later fight in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and mop-up operations in the Philippines, but will be most notoriously known for the massacre in the village of My Lai during the war in Vietnam. |
| November 14, 1944: |
Philippines - during a B-24 Liberator bomber raid on the Japanese-held Alicante Airport on Negros Island, a Japanese Ki-43 Oscar fighter is shot down by escorting P-38 Lightning piloted by Major Jay T. Robbins. Two weeks after this event, his combat deployment ends and he returns to the United States. Kill of Nakajima is the twenty-second and last Robbins victory, which places him in fourth place of the most successful aces of the Army Air Force in the Pacific. Major Robbins during his military duty flew 181 combat flights on the P-39 and P-38. Twice in his career, he managed a respectable performance to shoot down four enemy aircraft in one flight. |
| January 7, 1945: |
Philippines - Above the Manapla base on the island of Negros, there is a dogfight of air combat aces. Four P-38 led by the second most successful US fighter pilot with 38 victories Thomas McGuire is being engaged by a lone Japanese veteran Akira Sugimoto in his Ki-43. The Japanese manages to defeat McGuire, who finds death in the plane crashing into the jungle, but himself is hit by another American pilot so that he is forced to make an emergency landing on the ground, where he is killed in the cockpit by the Philippine guerrillas. |
| March 29, 1945: |
In the Philippines - There are American landings in the northwest of the island Negros near Bacolod with naval support by a destroyer force commanded by Admiral Struble. The landing force, part of the US 185th Infantry Regiment (40th Infantry Division), encounters heavy Japanese resistance on the island. A reinforced platoon under 1st Lt. Aaron H. Hanson slipped ashore ahead of the main landings to be staged near Bacolod, seizes the 650-foot steel truss Bago River bridge, which separates Pandan Point from the city itself, a vital link in supporting movement of heavy weapons and equipment. |
| April 8, 1945: |
In the Philippines - The US forces on Negros are reinforced by the landing of a second regiment, in the northwest of the island, near Bacolod. |
| April 26, 1945: |
In the Philippines - There is a further American landing on Negros, this time by units of the Americal Division in the southwest of the island. The troops advance well inland before encountering Japanese resistance. |
| May 4, 1945: |
In the Philippines - On Luzon, the US 25th Division, part of US I Corps, capture Mount Taal, west of the Balete Pass. Northwest of Manila, elements of the US XI Corps attack toward Guagua but are forced back by Japanese defenses. On Mindanao, the US 24th Division mops up in around Davao while elements of the US 31st Division patrol north of Zibawe. Elements of the US 41st Division reach Parang, north of Cotabato while other forces land north of Digos, near Santa Cruz. On Negros, the Americal Division attempts to reopen its supply lines, which have been cut by the Japanese forces, in the eastern part of the island. |
| May 8, 1945: |
In the Philippines - On Luzon, the US 145th Infantry Regiment captures the ridge near Guagua, southeast of Mount Pacawagan and blocks a track along the Mariquina river. On Mindanao, units of the US 24th Division establish a bridgehead over the Talomo river, north of Mintal. The US 31st Division clears the Colgan woods, reaching the Maramag airfield. American units land on Samar. On Negros, American forces in the south continue to progress against strong Japanese resistance. |
| May 15, 1945: |
In the Philippines - On Luzon, the US XI Corps prepares for a resumption of attacks against the Ipo dam, north of Manila. Forces of the US 8th Army launch new attacks on Mindanao and Negros. Units of the US 24th Division advance from Davao to the northeast and make contact with Filipino guerrillas. Mopping up operations continue in the Talomo river valley. |
| May 31, 1945: |
In the Philippines - On Negros, organized Japanese resistance ends. On Luzon, a regiment of the US 37th Division begins moving northward from Santa Fe through the Cagayan valley. |
| June 12, 1945: |
In the Philippines - On Luzon, the US 145th Infantry Regiment breaks Japanese resistance at Orioung Pass, occupies the town of Orioung and advances as far as positions overlooking the town of Balite. The Visayan Islands (including Samar, Negros, Panay, Leyte, Cebu, and Bohol), between Luzon and Mindanao, are secured by American forces. American casualties in the campaign have amounted to 835 dead and 2300 wounded. Japanese casualties are estimated to be 10,000 dead. |
| June 20, 1945: |
In the Philippines - On Luzon, Filipino guerrillas advance up the Cagayan valley from Aparri and liberate the town of Tuguegarao. The American regimental task force enters Aparri while elements of the US 37th Division advances 2.5 miles north of Ilagan. The Philippine guerrillas in the area are led by General Donald Blackburn, who managed to avoid capture in Bataan in 1942 and subsequently organized a several thousand guerrilla unit. Meanwhile, the US 8th Army headquarters announces that operations to recapture the islands of Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Palawan, as well as the western part of Mindanao, are completed. |
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| Literature sources: |  | Hubáček, Miloš: Boj o Filipíny (Fight for Philippines), Paseka, 2005, Praha, Litomyšl |  | Moskin, J. Robert: The U.S. marine corps story, Laser - books, 1997, Plzeň |  | Hata, Izawa, Sh, Ikuhiro, Yasuho, Christopher: Japanese army air force fighter units and their aces, 1931-1945, DOBROVSKÝ s.r.o., 2007, Praha |  | Hrbek, Jaroslav, Hrbek Ivan: Vítězství přichází z moře (Victory comes from sea), Naše vojsko, 1999, Praha |
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